Frank Feighan (Sligo-Leitrim, Fine Gael) | Oireachtas source

I thank the Senator for his question on these important issues for the Department of Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science. He mentioned two important words in this contribution, namely that he "values" and "respects" apprentices. I could not agree more. We are moving into a space now where we need to value and respect them much more.The Senator's analogy with growing up was very appropriate and I share his view on it.

As part of the Action Plan for Apprenticeship 2021 to 2025, the Minister for Further and Higher Education, Research, Innovation and Science, Deputy Harris, committed to cross-Border apprenticeship programmes to enhance Ireland's ability to respond to skills needs with an all-island ability in an all-island economy. Ireland operates as a small, open economy and the ability of our graduate apprentices to operate on an international stage is to be encouraged. The opportunity for international mobility as a component of apprenticeships programmes will be piloted during the lifetime of this plan, either in the workplace or in education and training institutions. The Government's commitment to cross-Border apprenticeships is reaffirmed in the revised National Development Plan, NDP, 2021 to 2030, which sets out an enhanced level of ambition for collaborative cross-Border public investment to build a more connected, prosperous and sustainable island for all the communities and traditions that share the island.

Under the NDP, the Government, through the Department, will work with our Northern Ireland and UK counterparts and other education and research stakeholders to support more strategic co-operation, realise more opportunities and shape further and higher education and research sectors that will meet the needs and capacity of this shared island into the future. This will include enhanced co-operation on higher and further education through collaborative approaches to programmes such as developing cross-Border apprenticeships.

A programme area skills development strategy is being developed as part of the PEACE PLUS programme strategy. This is aimed at delivering economic regeneration and transformation and identifying areas for investment. It will help to address evident skills gaps and result in increased productivity and employment as well as cross-Border labour mobility. It will also enable cross-Border collaboration between education and training-based providers to address existing and emerging skills gaps and opportunities for reskilling in key disciplines such as ICT and digital, science, technology, engineering, art and mathematics, or STEAM, the green economy, entrepreneurship, leadership and management, among other key areas, and promote uptake of apprentices in key areas such as ICT.

We will shortly launch a new funding call for PEACE PLUS, with collaboration on cross-Border apprenticeships as part of that. Working together, we have already identified one area, construction, where we can look to collaborate. We will explore this in detail in 2023.

Apprenticeships are a demand-driven, employer-led offering based on a contract of employment between the apprentice and the employer. The number of apprenticeships in any specific sector is, therefore, determined directly by employer provision. The Department is working with SOLAS examining the demand for construction workers between now and 2030.

The Senator spoke about difficulties with green certificates for agricultural training days. I will raise that matter with the Minister.

In recent years, the annual intake in construction-related apprenticeships has been steadily increasing. In 2020, there was a total of 3,370 construction apprenticeship registrations. This rose by 60% to 5,400 construction apprenticeship registrations in 2021 and to date in 2022, there have been 2,137 such registrations. As I said, when I visit community training centres they have useful trades. I hope they make plenty of money because they are providing a great resource to an ever-growing Irish economy.